Apparatus for feeding and stitching slide fastener stringers to garment fly pieces



Feb. 2, 1954 M. K. RoHRLlcK ET AL 2,667,849 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND STITCHING SLIDE FASTENER STRINGERS To GARMENT FLY PIECES Filed Dec. 18, 1951 2 ASheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORs ATTORNEYS Feb- 2, 1954 M. K. RoHRLlcK ETAL 2,667,849

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND STITCHING SLIDE FASTENER STRINGERS TO GARMENT FLY PIECES Filed Dec. 18, 1951 2' Sheets-Sheet 2\ INVENTORS BY gaaf/,Wa ma@ ATTORNEYS Patentecl Feb. 2, 17954 UNITED STATES T ,FLY PIECES Michael Alining -Rohrlick and Joan Eleanor 'Rohrliclg Montreal, Quebec, ACanada ,Application December 18, 1951, Serial N9, 262,212

Claims priority, application Canada December 18, 1950 9 .Claims- This invention relateeto improvements in aioparatus :for automatically .feeding and `s titohing slide fastener stringere to c ooperating garment pieees adapted to loe 'seoored .together .by glide fasteners, and oartoularly gar-,ment fly pieces- In particular the v,invention relatestoimprovements in the type of apparatus disclosed in our prior United States ,'Potont l:.No- 2,574,351, issued November 6, i951, f or feeding .successive strips of garment'ny :nieces V'to a :working bed in enelto-end relation and .fior oontinnonely .feeding o slide fastener stringer thereto so that the .fly pieces and AStringermay be eontnuonslyetitohed together throughout the length oi the Stringer.

Accordingrtoonroriorrpetent, .in therst Stege a slide fastener Stringer, 4lfrnowrias a .left hand strngenis automatically .feldfrorn a .eingleoornpertinent reel., vinoiinted 4:for :rotation -on a .reel Stond, through :a :left liano stringer :guide foerried by a left yhemdpresser iootto and beneath said presser foot Awith the attgoheo coupling links along the left .hand side --edgeof .theettinger yfor uninterrupted .stitching of the Stringer 4to Sooeessive ny -pieoee known in the .trade .as white fly pieces. AIn orderfto oooomnlieh continuous stitching, a white fly piece is fed underneath thepresser iootbottom end nrstand the' stringer is stitched along Vthe :length of a white viiy piece from a .predetermined ,point Y.in from 7the bottom en d `to the top .end of the white fly piece. The sewing operationisthen suspended and braking actionis applied to thereel. The presser foot is raisedand-the next white fly piece is inserted beneathfthe presser toot bottom end iirst with that portion from the bottom end up to the predetermined point where vstitching commences underlying the adjacent; stitched end ofthe preceding white fly piece. The presser foot is then lowered .and then release of the reel brake and starting of the stitching operation is effected. In this' ymanner successive white ny pieces aresewn tothestringerfin endgto-end relation .throughout thelength f e left. hand Stringer .as it. is unwound gndfodiflom a `reel to andubeneath the presser root eliminating Athe Waste portoneof the Stringer no1"- mally encountered in the nsiual conventional practice.

Howeven betorethenext voperation stage can be efeeteagnewreel, carrying a right .hand Stringer forapplieaton to .blgokwflrpieoee, muet be vmounted on the reelrstand fp1,a ce c f the aforementioned 4reehand a righthand presser foot f carryinga right I hand ,Stringer .guide rnust he -enbstituted.,f.or the leithandpreseer footfond Strirlger guide- .The ,right ,goed Stringer is te?? fed from the reel through 13.1.1@ .fight .hfQ S'tfgf guide and to and beneaththe'neWly ed presser foot forstitehing tofsuccessiye' length f black iiy pieces.' "f bl ik "piemw marked inwardly from' thebo o ni end 't6 cate the point 'where stitching of Athe str'ing'ar along its length vwillloe te nated.y Each bla1 fly piece is fed, u pp'ei'end rstytoandfb l the presser foot and thestr i M ed andstitched thereto valong` 4 Y l predetermined point. The stitc l"'nfg' then sis'- pended, the brake applied to the 1reel'arid-'the presser foot is raised. fIhat portion f roi the lower end to the point where thefs'tithingterminates yis ythen tiiclged under "the'adaent pfeviously stitched portion the iipperiend dof the next black'y piece is'placed adjacent the preyiouslystitched ily piece 'solas to afford continuous kstitclrlirig ofthe stri-nger Without waste in the length of the Stringer.

The foregoing vvarrarigernent has certain disadvantages which the present inv'ention Yproposes to overcome. 4For eia'mple, the y'operator is required to removeand replace certain .echanieal parts ofthe apparatus in ordertoleecta change-over fromthfirs't stage stitchirgopration between a left hand Stringer and sue'srsive strips of `whitef Iilypieces `to themsechd stage stitching operationbetween a right Stringer and success'iye strips wof .fblackf rfly pieces. A

One object vof this invention' is -to provide. a double compartment r'eeladaptedptogbe' mounted for rotation on a reel stand and about which left and rightA hand s tring'ers, constituting...the lco'r'npleinentary Stringer sections o'tasllde fastener; are separately wound -for selective fee'ding..t'o and beneath a presser footgto vibe rstitche'd..tol the corresponding whiteY and yflolacl,flyrpieces of a garment.

Another object -is to .provide -a .universal Stringer guide and presser `foot .unitwhich is adapted to guide and feed either a left'. or .right hand Stringer to the Working bedr ot/the `appa-- ratus Yfor continuously k.stitching `the selected Stringer -to siiccessivel fly` .pieces v asl thellatterlare fed beneath the presser:icotinend-to'fend relation.

Another disadvantage ofthe apparatusgaerodnding to our priore-patent is .that ,the .motor is Stopped and. lthe-longke is .applied topline-.reel through mechanism controlled soIelyhy-.a foot treadle so thatloralzerelease can onlygb'ezeifected simultaneously with, v:poter startingV and: colise- 'quent stitching operation. The operator, after raising the presser foot, requires a certain amount of Slack play in the Stringer for adjusting the adjacent portions of the ily pieces to the desired position beneath the presser foot so that uninterrupted stitching of the Stringer to successive y pieces can be eiected. The operator must, therefore, draw oi the required slack against the braking action applied to the reel. This means an increase in the operations required by the operator, which, being of a fatiguing nature, decrease the emciency of the operator. Furthermore, the time consumed to draw off the required Stringer slack is a lost motion which increases the operating time and costs of the apparatus.

It is, therefore, a further object of this inven-V tion to provide a novel brake release attachment which is controlled through the medium of the presser foot actuating mechanism for releasing the reel brake in co-ordination with the raising of the presser foot while the motor switch remains in the off position. With this arrangement the Stringer is automatically Slackened to permit the desired adjustment of the fly pieces beneath the presser foot without requiring any additional motions on the part of the operator.

The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will be understood more readily from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of an apparatus embody- Y ing the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view looking at the under side of the working bed of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view, partly i Y the presser foot plate permits feeding of the broken, of a portion of the apparatus indicated between lines 3-3 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the presser foot and attached portions;

Fig. 5 is a detail taken along the lines 5 7-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a further detail along the lines G- of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan View, partly broken, of the working bed and showing details oi the reel brake and the presser foot actuating mechanism; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail of a portion of the brake actuating mechanism shown in Figs. 2 and 7.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 5 generally designates a conventional sewing machine which includes a working bed 6, a sewing head 'I mounted over said working bed, a motor 8 mounted beneath the working bed and connected to a machine driven pulley 9 by belt I0, and a treadle II supported for rocking about a horizontal axis, as indicated at I2, said treadle being connected to one end of a switch actuating bar I3 which operates a conventional switch (not shown) of motor 8. The machine is provided with the standard mechanical driving apparatus and stitch forming mechanism, including a presser foot bar I4 and needle bar I5. The machine may be of the conventional single or donnie needle machine type, preference being given to the latter in order that a double row of stitching may be provided to adequately secure a Stringer of a slide fastener to a garment fly piece.

The presser foot bar I4 has conventional mechanism (not shown) for lowering and raising Ma presser foot to operative and inoperative posili tions. This mechanism is operated by a knee pressure actuating device comprising a knee press sure pad I6 at the lower end of an arm I'I which is connected at Vits upperl end to an actuating bar I8 for rotation of said bar about a horizontal axis, indicated at I9, and extending through a bracket 20 secured to the underside of working bed 6. A connecting rod 2| extends upwardly through working bed 6 and is connected at its upper end in any suitable manner to the conventional presser foot lowering and raising mech anism. VFor example, rod 2I may be rigidly connected by bar 2| to presser foot bar Ill. The lower end Vof rod 2l is connected by link 22 to actuating bar I8 so that rotation of the actuating bar in a counter-clockwise direction will lift rod 2I, thereby actuating the aforesaid presser foot mechanism through rod 2I to raise the presser foot. The knee pressure actuating device and its linkage to the presser foot mechanism is well known in the art.V Therefore, the above description is intended to deal only with the motion of the actuating device and the resultant eect on the presser foot mechanism for the purpose of co-relating motion of certain other mechanical elements of this invention in a manner hereinafter more fully described.

As shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the presser foot employed in this invention comprises a block 25 having an opening to receive the presser foot bar I4, which is then secured by thumb screw and a presser foot plate 21 extending forwardly oi block 25. Plate 2'I is provided with central needle openings 28 and is grooved along the under surface on opposite sides, as indicated at 29, to accommodate the attached coupling links of a Slide fastener Stringer as the Stringer passes beneath the presser foot. The double grooving of Stringers with the links either on the left or right hand side of the Stringer as desired. In the use of a single needle machine, the plate 21 will be provided with a single centra1 needle opening but will be otherwise constructed the same as above described.

The forward end of plate 2'I is provided with an upwardly curved Stringer guide plate 3i) for feeding the Stringer directly beneath the presser foot plate. Guide plate 30 iS grooved, as indicated at 3 I, along its under surface on both sides and is provided with a tubular Section 32 intermediate its length. Tubular section 32 is sub- Stantially flattened, as indicated at 33, throughout a substantial portion oi its width for passage of the Stringer therethrough and is outwardly expanded along the opposite sides to provide enlarged openings 34 foraccommodation of the attached coupling links along either the left or right hand side of the Stringer when said Stringer is fed through the tubular section to the required position beneath the presser foot.

A slide fastener Stringer is fed to the presser foot Stringer guide 30 from a reel 35 mounted for rotation about a vertical axis on a hollow reel stand 36. Reel 35 iS divided into upper and lower Stringer compartments 37 and 38 defined by upper, intermediate and lower reel discs 39, 40 and 4I centrally arranged about a sleeve 42 and spaced apart by hub forming collars 43 and 44. The discs are stiiened adjacent their sleeve openings by washers 45 flatly engaging opposing surfaces of said discs. Nuts 46 screw-threaded on the ends of sleeve 42 serve to clamp the discs, washers and hubs together vfor rotation with the sleeve about its axis. The purpose of the double l'reel is to separately accommodate the left and right hand stringers o'f a slide fastener to 'be separately stitched to garment fly pieces `'known in the trade as the white liy and 'the black fly pieces, respectively. 'The reel stand 36 is provided with an arm v'41 which is directed 'toward the machine head 1.. 'The arm supports a'po's't '4B having upper and lower Stringer guide loops 49 and 49e positioned opposite compartments 31 and 38 respectively.

An operator Iwill -select a stringer from one of the compartments 31 and v353 passing the end. through one of the two guide loops 49 and 49a and then through a tension device y5l) on a bracket `59a carried by the machine head .1. The Stringer is then threaded through 'tubular section -32 Aof presser foot Stringer guide 3D and thence beneath the presser foot .plate 21. If the left hand stringer isselected vit 'will have its coupling links disposed in the left 'hand groove 3| vand enlarged opening 34 of the stringer guide 39 .and

beneath the leit hand groove 29 of the presser ioot plate for stitching to a vwhite ily piece. If the right hand stringer is selected the arrangement will be reversed forvstitching to a black fly piece. The remaining .Stringer will have its free end passed through a slot 45I in disc '39 or 4I to prevent unreeling of lthe'remaining Stringer while the selected Stringer is being fed from the reel.

The hollow reel stand .36 is mounted on the upper surface of working'bed .6,'as indicated at 52 and has a 4spindle 53 arranged `:for vertical sliding movement therein. The lower end of spindle 53 extends through an opening in working bed @and is supported on .one end of a lever arm 54 which is suspendedrbeneath the working bed for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis. The, upper end of spindle 53 extends through an opening 55 .in a plate "56 secured to the upper end of reel stand 36. The .plate 56 serves to centre the spindle onthe hollow reel `stand 36. A brake disc 51 lis bolted or otherwise 4secured tothe upper surface of lplatev56, as indicated at 53, said brake disc `being provided with a central opening 59 within which a collar A60 on spindle 53 is arranged for vertical movement Vwith the spindle. Collar 6B is-provided with set screws 6I for yvertical adjustment ofthe collar on the spindle. The sleeve 42 of reel 35 is slidably tted on the free upper 'end-ofspindle 53 for rotation or" the reel about the spindle. IThe reel normally frictionally engagingbrake disc "51 is. removable from friction' contact therewithY by vlifting action of collar 6G against the bottom'of sleeve 42 when spindle-53 is raised through the medium of'lever arm 54.

The lever armr 54 is -suspendedlintermediate its vlength to rotate about a horizontal axis 62 of a bracket 63 secured tothe under side of working vbed 6. The extension 54a-of arm 54 on the side of axis 62 remote from the spindle is connected Ato treadle II by -a link'65, `saidlink being connected to said arm extension-54a at 66 intermediate the axis 62 and the free end of said lever arm extension.

When'the olside of treadle II is depressed, the switch actuating bar I3 is pulled downwardly to thereby actuate the motor switch for starting the motor 8. At the same time lever arm 54, through link 65, is rotated about its axis 62 to lift the spindle 53. This releases the reel 35 from frictional contact with brake disc 51 through the medium of collar 60 to permit free rotation of the reel for feeding the Stringer to and beneath the .presser foot during stitching operation of the stringer Vto Ia y piece. :When 'the cffside of treadle II is raised, as `shown .in dotted line in Fig. l, switch Aactuating bar I3 shuts off the motor B. At the same time, 'tension of 'the treadle having been released by the raising of lthe rear of the treadle, the llever arm .54 will berotated by the Wei'glt of the lspindle and the reel thereon to permit lowering of the reel into frictnnal engagement with the brake disc to `prevent further unreeling'of the stringer.

The operator shuts off the motor in the manner above described when stitching of the Stringer to the fly .piece has reached' apredetermined point along 'the length of the ily piece. The operator then raises `the presser 'foot by applying knee pressure against'th'e 'aforementioned knee pressure actuating device in .order `to .insert a `new fly piece beneath the pressure gfoot for continuous stitching along the length ofthe stringer from one 'fly piece 'to another. A 'slight amount vof play must be .given to thestringer for manipulation of the "adjacent ends .of `the fly pieces into .positionbenea'th 'the presser foot. To provide this ,playthe operator must `draw .oi suffi.- cient .s'lack .from the reel. Repeated operations of thisnature are iatiguingto 'theoperator when the brake is applied tothe reel.

This is overcome by providing a separate mechanism co-.operable vwith the knee l pressure .actuating device for ,releasing rictiona'l Contact between brake `,dise 51 and .reel '.3 5 .simultaneously with the raising of the .pressure foot. 'The mechanism comprises a crank .lever 1.5,ppivotally connected to a bracket y1I secured to .the .underside `of working vbed 6. Lever 1.0'is pivotedtobracket l1i for rotationabout ,ahorizontalaxis indicated at V'i2 and has one arm 1.3 normally .projecting upwardly and the other arm '.14 ,projecting at right angles thereto. Arm '1,3 .is pivotally .connected adjacent its free .end ,to .one .end of .a link 15 having. its .other` end. connected tto .an varm 16 extending .downwardly from .the presser foot actuating bar I8, The .other arm `14is shaped to provide .a horizontally .disposed flat surface, indicated at '11, provided with ,an -opening v1li therethrough to receive a dependingrod' .19 which ispivotally connected at 89 tothe free end-ofthe .brake .actuating Yarm .extension 54a. The lower 4end of rod 19 is threaded to .receive adjusting nuts BI which are suitably adjusted on the rod and below the arm 14. .Rotation of the knee pressure actuating device.v in a .counten-clockwise direction -provides `.rotation o'f crank .lever '19 throughlink l15. This actioncauses crank arm 14 to exert .a downward Lpressure against nuts 6I on depending rod'19to Athereby rotatespindle lever arm 54 about'its horizontal axis 62 'forlifting spindle 54 to free the reel 35 from 'frictional .engagement with the. brake 4disc`51 simultaneously with the raising of the..presser"'foot. As the .treadleII is stillin the stop position, that'is,

with the offsideofthetreadle raised, the link 65 between leverarm 54 and 'treadle II will slide 65 ing 32 provided therefor.

yWith -this .brake releasing mechanism, the opera-tor can readily draw 01T the slack stringer from the reel which is required in order to manipulate the adjacent ends of the fly pieces be. neath the presser foot as previously set forth. It will be appreciated that this brake releasing mechanism requires no additional manipulation by the operator but is linked for simultaneous co-ordination with the conventional presser foot Y Y 7 Y actuating device the control of which the operator is already completely familiar with.

Having now described what is deemed to be the preferred embodiment of this invention it will be understood that changes and modifications may be resorted to within the scope and spirit of our invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

l. In combination with a sewing machine having a working bed and mechanism operable for stitching and feeding work together along the working bed, a reel supporting spindle mounted for vertical movement, a multi-compartment reel rotatably mounted on said spindle, each of said compartments containing a slide fastener stringer arranged for selective feeding of one of said stringers to the working bed, said mechanism including a presser foot, means carried by s aid presser foot for selectively guiding a Stringer from said reel to and beneath the presser foot with the attached coupling links arranged either along the left or right hand side of the Stringer, means to brake said reel, means to raise and lower said presser foot, and means operatively connected to said last means and to said braking means to render said braking means inoperative when said presser foot is raised.

2. A machine as set forth in claim 1, in which said stringer guide means comprises a plate member secured to the forward end of the presser foot to project upwardly and outwardly therefrom, said plate being provided with a lengthwise groove in the under surface on both sides and being provided with a tubular section intermediate its length, said tubular section being substantially attened throughout a substantial portion of its width for passage of the tape portion of a Stringer therethrough, and being outwardly expanded throughout its length along opposite sides to provide enlarged openings for accommodation of said coupling links whether on the left or right hand side of the Stringer.

3. A machine as set forth in claim 2 in which said enlarged openings of the tubular section are aligned with the grooves along the under side of the guide plate.

4. A machine as set forth in claim l, in which said stringer guide means comprises a plate member projecting upwardly from the forward end of the presser foot, said plate member being provided with a tubular section through which a stringer is guided downwardly toward and beneath the presser foot, said tubular section being substantially attened throughout a substantial portion of its width for passage of the tape portion of a stringer therethrough, and being outwardly expanded throughout its length along opposite sides to provide enlarged openings for accommodation of said coupling links whether on the left or right hand side of the Stringer.

5. A machine as set forth in claim 4, in which said presser foot is provided with a groove along the under surface at each side which is positioned with respect to the enlarged opening on the same side in the tubular section so that the attached coupling links of a Stringer will lie within the groove of the presser foot when said Stringer is fed for stitching beneath said presser foot.

` 6. In combination with a sewing machine having a working bed and mechanism operable for stitching and feeding work together along the working bed, a reel supporting spindle mounted for vertical movement, a reel rotatably mounted on said spindle and movable vertically therewith, said reel carrying a slide fastener Stringer for feeding to said working bed and beneath a presser foot, a presser foot mounted over said working bed, means operable for raising and lowering said presser foot, a brake mounted for frictionally engaging said reel, means operable for moving said spindle vertically to thereby move said reel into and out of frictional engagement with said brake, and means operatively connecting said presser foot operating means to said spindle operating means to lift said spindle so as to move said reel out of frictional engagement with said brake during movement of said presser foot to its raised position by said presser foot operating means.

7. A Stringer guiding presser foot having a plate member secured to the forward end of the presser foot to project upwardly and outwardly therefrom, said plate being provided with Va lengthwise groove in the under surface on both sides and being provided with a tubular section intermediate its length, said tubular section being substantally flattened throughout a substantial portion of its width for passage of the tape portion of a Stringer therethrough, and being outwardly expanded throughout its length along opposite sides to provide enlarged openings for ac- A commodation of said coupling links whether on the left or right hand side of the4 Stringer.

8. A machine as set forth in claim 7 in which said enlarged openings of the tubular section are aligned with the grooves along the under side of the guide plate.

9. In combination, a sewing machine having a presser foot, means to raise and lower the presser foot, a reel, means rotatably mounting the reel von the machine, means to brake the reel, and

means operatively connected to said raising and lowering means and to said brakingr means to render said braking means inoperative when the presser foot is raised. 

